PlayBoy Sakura
by KawaiiScorpio
Summary: A day at the beach brings many things to the Naruto girls. This time it brings an opportunity for Sakura to pose in Konoha's hottest magazine. After an insensitive remark from Neji, she decides to accept the offer. What will Neji think about this? OneShot
1. Chapter 1

Playboy Sakura

"Cha! You're mine!" screamed Sakura as she jumped up and sent the volleyball hurdling back to earth with tremendous speed. Ino and TenTen had to dodge the ball, fearful of it breaking various body parts upon impact, like it did when it smashed into the sandy grounds of the beach. "That's four wins for me and Hinata, and three wins for you and TenTen, Ino-pig" Sakura chuckled, giving Hinata a high-five.

"Well, maybe we'd be able to win a little more if you wouldn't try to kill us with the damn ball" Ino sneered, pouting. "Haha, well like I always say, if you got it, flaunt it. And I most certainly do have it." Sakura teased, posing with a flip of her long cherry pink hair and a dainty hand on her hip. "Oh you got it alright, you got a big ol' forehead to match your big ol' ego" Ino retorted, howling with laughter.

A vein popped on Sakura's forehead, a scowl replacing the seductive smirk she had on her lips mere moments ago. Hinata knew enough to back away when she saw Sakura glare, especially since she was making fists with her hands, tight fists by the looks of her white knuckles.

"You wanna repeat that, Ino-pig?" Sakura seethed, stomping up to the volleyball net and glaring hotly at the blonde. Ino shivered involuntarily at the look she was getting, she would much rather be getting an evil glare from Sasuke or Orochimaru, they looked like happy little elves compared to Sakura when she was pissed off.

She held up her hands infront of her , " I was just kidding, Sakura. Calm down." Sakura's eye twitched, but her temper died, not wanting to cause a scene. She sighed and turned to walk back towards her beach chair, while Ino tried to keep her heart from breaking her chest from pounding so hard. "Man, she's scary when she's angry." "Perhaps then, you shouldn't piss her off" TenTen advised with a sly wink, walking past Ino and hurrying after Sakura and Hinata.

"This is such a nice place for a little break" Hinata sighed, rubbing some tanning lotion over her sleek figure. "I agree, props for suggesting it Sakura" TenTen said, pulling her sunglasses over her eyes and laying back in her beach chair. "Sure thing. Hey, Hinata, wanna pass me the suntan lotion please?" Sakura asked, undoing the knot she had in her orange/red/yellow beach skirt.

Hinata nodded, closing the lid with a 'click', she tossed the bottle of lotion at Sakura, who caught it easily with one hand. Flicking the lid open she squeezed out a small amount onto her palm and rubbed it on her legs. She was still bent over rubbing lotion into her skin when she heard a whistle, with a blink she looked up and saw a group of three men oggling her, or rather, her cleavage that was visible from her white bikini top.

Sakura felt the familiar bubbles of anger rise up inside of her, but instead of going and pounding the living daylights out of them, she smirked and leaned over to grab the volleyball she had been playing with earlier. Standing up, she smiled sweetly at her admirers, "Hey boys, catch" was all she said before tossing the ball up into the air, jumping up slightly to meet it half way, and smack it with a slight chakra induced punch.

The boys had gotten a nice view of her bouncing cleavage, and her flat stomach as she jumped up to hit the ball to them. They had little time to prepare to catch it in an attempt to lure her over to do some flirting, but had even less time to dodge the ball once they saw how fast it was coming towards them. The ball hit one guy square in the stomach, bounced off him and hit another in the head, and finally bounced off him and hit the last one in the groin. The hit was not hard enough to break any bones, but enough to knock them on their asses and probably give them a nice bruise.

"Bulls eye!" Sakura cheered, giving Ino, who had finally reappeared, a dazzling smile. Ino took a sip from her newly bought soda, eyeing the scene and putting two and two together, she shrugged. "It could have been much worse boys, trust me." TenTen was clutching her stomach and laughing like a hyena, while Hinata merely shook her head and readjusted herself in her seat.

Sakura smiled and walked back to her seat, plopping herself down and reaching over the side to grab her black travel bag. She fumbled with it for a couple minutes before finding what she had been looking for, pulling out a black elastic and a pair of silver cat eye glasses. With grace possessed by few, Sakura reached around the back of her head, gathering up her hair, and put it up in a high ponytail. She finished up her look by slipping her sunglasses on to sit gently on the bridge of her nose.

With a sigh she stretched out her arms above her head, "I wish we had more time to lounge around in the sun like this." Hinata and Ino nodded their heads in agreement, but TenTen shook her head slightly. "Not me" she said, crossing one leg over the other. All heads turned in her direction, "Why not, TenTen? Don't you like sunbathing and being carefree?" Ino asked, looking at the brunette like she had grown another head.

"Yah, I do. But think about it, if we spent all of our time just laying around and sipping soda's and eating ice cream and hot dogs, we'd end up fat and lazy" TenTen explained expertly, "Besides, I don't know about any of you guys, but I like fighting. Not only does it keep me in shape, but it proves that boys aren't the only ones who can kick some serious ass." TenTen finished with a playful smirk.

"I guess you're right, TenTen. I hadn't thought about it that way" Hinata admitted, subconsciencly placing a hand on her stomach, suddenly not feeling so hungry for ice cream. "I like fighting, too" Sakura said suddenly, smirking, " I never get tired of the look the boys get on their faces when they see me create craters in the ground simply by stomping my foot" she laughed.

Ino shook her head, " In any case, we should enjoy the time off we have while we can. Now, who wants ice cream?" Three hands shot up in the air. Sakura stood up, straightened out her bikini top, and offered to help Ino carry the treats back. "Flavours?" she asked, tying her beach skirt back in place. "Cookie dough" Hinata said. "I'll have maple walnut" TenTen said, licking her lips in anticipation.

Ino and Sakura made their way over to the ice cream stall, where they placed their order and were currently waiting for it to be dished out into the waffle cones. They were chatting about nothing in particular, when Sakura suddenly felt eyes on her. The feeling made her skin break out in goosebumps, and as discreetly as possible, she looked around the area for where the source of her sudden discomfort.

Ino noticed Sakura's sudden lack of talking and how stiff she had become. "Sakura, what's up?" she whispered to her, leaning in so that they could hear each other. Sakura continued to roam the area with her eyes for a few more minutes, but was unable to find anything that would have triggered such sensations to arise in her. She chalked it up to being out in the sun for too long, making a mental note to stay under an umbrella for a while. "Nothing, I'm fine. Our order's up" she observed, ignoring Ino's worried glances, and instead paying the man and taking two of the cones offered to her.

Upon arrival back with her friends, Sakura immediatley put up their beach umbrella and placed her chair underneath it. "You feeling alright, Sakura?" TenTen asked, flicking out her tounge to catch a dribble of her ice cream that had been trickling down her cone. "Yah, I'm fine, just a little overheated." she said with a smile, setting herself in her chair and licking at her chocolate ice cream cone.

Twenty minutes later, the feeling of eyes on her struck Sakura again. "Hinata" she said somewhat stifly, making the Hyuuga heriess look at her somewhat weirdly. "I do believe we have a pest problem, if you wouldn't mind checking the surrounding area?" she asked. Hinata didn't quite understand, but activated her byakugan anyway, searching for anything suspicous.

A few minutes later, Hinata fully understood her friends request. Not far from where they sat to their right, there was a man with a camera, hiding behind .a garbage can. His eyes seemed to focus soley on Sakura, and she guessed that was what had been causing Sakura to be so on edge. " You were right, as per usual, Sakura. I located the pest behind that garbage can" she said, pointing to said can.

"Thought so, thanks Hinata" Sakura said, getting to her feet and performing a few hand seals, and then disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The man behind the garbage can, seemingly oblivious to being found out, blinked at the sudden disappearance of the pink haired girl. He stood slowly, scratching his head in confusement. He turned around to search for her, but found her much faster, and much closer, than he thought he would.

Upon turning around, he came face to face with Sakura, who did not look happy at all. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't send you to the hospital" she growled, cracking her knuckles for effect. The man gulped, beads of sweat trickling down his face. "M-My name is Haku, and I-I work f-f-for Konoha's hottest m-magazine" he stuttered nervously, not liking the way Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"Pleased to meet you, but your employment isn't a good enough excuse" she said, widening her stance and preparing to punch the man so hard that he wouldn't even have to be carted over to the hospital. "W-Wait! You don't understand! It's my job to find the most attractive girls in Konoha and have them pose in our magazine!" Haku shouted, backing up a bit.

Sakura faltered, "So let me get this straight, you were taking pictures of me for your magazine?" Haku nodded enthusiastically, letting out a sigh of relief, "Yes, that's right. You see, I take a couple shots without you knowing to see if you're photogenic or not, not all people look good on film. I don't like to get people's hopes up and then let them down." he explained.

Sakura nodded, her stance relaxing and going back to a normal standing position. "What magazine company are you working for again?" she asked offhandedly. Haku smiled, "Only the hottest selling magazine in all of the Fire Country! Konoha's Cuties!" he stated proudly. Sakura's vein nearly popped right out of her head, "Konoha's Cuties?! That is like...like...playboy material!" she shreiked, raising her fist, intent on knocking the terrified mans lights out.

"That's right, but you shouldn't be so upset about it! I mean, your beauty would be given to all of Konoha!" Sakura scoffed, "You mean given to all of Konoha's perverts!" "Will you at least not consider it? I'm sure you would be a natural at it! And the pay is good" Haku said desperatley, trying to sway Sakura's decision. Sakura sighed again, "I guess if you really insist, then I'll think about it. But take into consideration that I'm a kunoichi, and that I don't always have lots of spare time, and sometimes I'm gone for weeks at a time. Can you and your company handle that type of thing?"

Haku nodded, "Yes, we have had kunoichi work for us in the past, it will be no trouble at all. In fact, we prefer kunoichi's because of their well toned body." Sakura nodded, "Alright then, I'll contact you at your studio, or whatever, in a couple days and give you my decision then. Fair enough?" she asked, sticking out her hand. "Yes, yes! Thank you! I am sure that you will be an instant hit with our fans" Haku said happily, shaking Sakura's hand. "That's what I'm afraid of" Sakura mumbled.

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"No way! You're actually considering his offer?!" TenTen and Ino both screeched at once, making Sakura cover her ears. "Quiet down will you! It's not as like I'm going into the porn industry if I accept his offer, which I still haven't decided if I'm even going to accept or not" Sakura said, slightly adjusting her short blue jean shorts.

" I think you should accept" Hinata piped up, earning herself two incredelous stares and one semi confused look. She blushed and smiled shyly, fidgeting with her long hair. "Well, I just think that it is a once in a life time opportunity. I mean, it's not everyday that a person asks you to pose in their magazine. Besides, couldn't you use the extra cash?"

Sakura tilted her head to the side in thought. She really could use some extra cash, seeing as how it was July and she was in desperate need of an air conditioner. But still, the thought of posing in a playboy magazine seemed somewhat wrong to her. Flaunting her body, more than likley stark naked, for all of Konoha's eyes to see. What if somebody she knew saw it? It would certainly be awkward, that was for sure.

But then a thought hit her. Was she ashamed of her body? Was she not pretty enough like those supermodels she so often saw in other magazines? The thoughts got her temper boiling. She was way more beautiful than those fake and stuck up snobs.

Her thoughts were cut short when TenTen and Ino bid her and Hinata farewell, splitting up to go their two seperate routes home, as always. Sakura lived not far from the Hyuuga mansion, having moved out of her parents home at the tender age of 18. She had lived there for going on four years, and since she had lived so close to one of her best friends, they naturally spent alot of time together at each other's house.

Having spent so much time over at Hinata's house, she naturally saw Neji alot more often. He was always training, sometimes with Hinata, and sometimes even she would join in. After spending more time with the progidy, Sakura found herself falling head over heels in love with him. She had hated the the thought at first, seeing Neji as just another Sasuke, another genius with a freezer where his heart should be.

But through the years, Sakura discovered another side to Neji. A less cold, and dare she say, gentle, side. But whenever she tried to get a bit closer to him, he seemed to snap back into his cold demenor and brush her off, saying that he had no time to take it easy, and he'd high tail it back outside to train. She'd been offended the first few times he had done it, and it stung alot more than she thought it would, but these days she had grown used to it.

She should have given up on him before she even started, that's what she always told herself. But her heart simply refused to let go of the hold on him, and she often found herself watching him train, or sneaking glances at him as he passed her by."Hopeless" she muttered to herself as she followed Hinata up the stairs and into the Hyuuga Mansion.

Upon enterting the living room, the pearly eyes of Hyuuga Hiashi set on both of them. Sakura bowed deeply in respect to the man, "Good evening, Lord Hiashi" she said politley. Hiashi smiled faintly, "Good evening, Sakura. How nice to see you again." Hinata also bowed deeply to her father, "Father, I have a request."

Hiashi turned his eyes from Sakura to his daughter, nodding his head slightly to awknowledge that he was listening. "May Sakura spend the night? She is going to help me with some training, and I thought that she could spend the night as a payment of sorts." Without much hesitation, Hiashi nodded his head. "Of course. Thanks to Sakura, you have been improving greatly in taijutsu and ninjutsu. I am very proud of your improvments thus far, Hinata."

Hinata blushed, but smiled brightly at her father. Bowing again, she gave her thanks, and led Sakura to the kitchen to grab some drinks before they started their training session. "What'll it be, Sakura?" Hinata asked as she crouched down to dig deeper into the regions of her fridge, rambling off a list of the different types of drinks they had in stock.

"I think I'll have some of that green tea flavoured iced tea that you make so well, Hinata" Sakura said, digging out a towel and her Konoha headband. Hinata, on her way through to finish the preperations for the iced tea, raised an eyebrow at the forehead protector. "Why is it that when we train, you insist on wearing your forehead protector, Sakra?" she asked.

Sakura smiled as she finished tying the band securly on her forehead. "Because, when I put on this forehead protector, I am Sakura Haruno, kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Leaf. Or, to put it simply, I use it to get into 'kunoichi mode'. A state of mind that I concentrate purly on my fighting." she explained, and Hinata nodded in understanding.

A few minutes later, and the girls were carting a large pitcher of iced tea out towards the training grounds, eager to get their session underway. Hinata was putting up her long hair into a pony tail, when she spotted Neji walking through the front gate of their home. "Welcome home, Neji" Hinata shouted, smiling. Sakura almost froze in place, but managed to keep her composure, turning abruptly to face Neji, who was now walking towards them, and bowing. "Good evening, Neji."

Neji's eyes widened a bit at the sight of Sakura, taking in her appearance. She was in nothing more than a bikini top and a pair of short jean shorts, her long hair pulled back into a braid. He managed to snap out of his trance like state before he could be accused of staring, raising an eyebrow and gesturing to Sakura's outfit. "Do you always train in such clothing? Or, lack of?"

Sakura blinked, was that jealousy she heard in his voice? Nah, it couldn't be. Neji, she was sure, didn't give a damn about her personal life. "I do when it's hot" she said confidently, "And besides, I've got nothing to hide under my clothes, thank you very much." Neji agreed, though he wouldn't verify such feelings or thoughts verbally. Instead, he shook his head, saying only one thing to her before stalking off towards his house. "You have nothing to flaunt, either."

Sakura's temper flared to life, and before thinking, she raced towards Neji with a fist pulled back. He felt the chakra surge behind him, and managed to miss her initial punch, but wasn't expecting her to come to a halt almost directly beside him and pull her elbow back and crack him in the jaw. Neji stumbled and fell, none to gracefully, on his butt.

He held a hand to his cheek, shocked at the fact that she had not only caught him by surprise, by had also landed a solid hit on him. Raising his eyes to meet green eyes ablaze with rage, he had to smirk, this girl was good. He stood, intent on getting ready for a sparring match with her, but a voice stopped him. "It takes a great deal of talent, not to mention guts, to land such a blow on a Hyuuga. I am very impressed, Sakura" Hiashi said from the doorway.

Sakura's eyes softened as she smiled at the older man, and bowed, "Thank you, you are too kind, Lord Hiashi." The Hyuuga Lord smiled at Sakura, and turned his head to smirk knowingly at Neji before taking his leave, claiming he had important matters that required his attention.

Neji stood and dusted the dirt from his clothes, trying to ignore the dull throb on his cheek. She packed quite a punch, but he knew that he had gotten off easy, as he had seen her demolish bouldars the size of his mansion with little effort. Too absorbed in his inner ramblings, he failed to notice Sakura walking up to him until she stood directly infront of him.

Immediatley, he was caught up in the emerald swirling depths that were her eyes, noticing nothing but how her eyes reminded him of seas of green hills. Before long, his mind caught up with him, scolding him for having been caught staring. Coming back to his senses, he realized that his cheek no longer throbbed painfully. He was confused until he saw a flicker of blue moving away from his face, and upon closer insepection, he found it was Sakura's hand that was glowing blue.

She had healed the spot where she had punched him. For a moment, he couldn't understand why she would do such a thing, until it dawned on him. Sakura was a kind person, and no matter if he deserved the blow she dealt or not, she had felt bad for hitting him nonetheless. He had to get away. Fast. Before his well built walls came tumbling down.

"I am sorry for hitting you, Neji" he heard Sakura say, and it took every last ounce of his will power not to gather her into his arms and kiss her untill his lungs were so deprived of oxygen that he would go unconscience. A grunt was her only reply before he walked stifly into the house, and straight to his bedroom.

The rest of the day went more or less normal. Sakura and Hinata trained until they were called in for dinner. Dinner was uneventful, other than both Sakura and Neji having stayed almost silent for the entire meal. For Neji, this was nothing out of the normal, but for Sakura, however, it was quite odd. She did not talk unless she was spoken to, otherwise she stayed completley silent.

After dinner was done, and Sakura had helped to tidy things up, even though Hiashi insisted that it was fine, she went to take a shower. The cool water felt wonderful on her overheated skin, relishing in the feeling of the cool liquid all over her body. When she was finished, she wrapped a towel around her small frame, silently cursing the fact that she had forgotten her change of clothes in Hinata's room.

Opening the door a crack, she peeked out, looking for anybody. Seeing nobody, Sakura rushed out of the bathroom, and made a mad dash for Hinata's room. She rounded one corner and was coming up to the last corner until Hinata's room, picking up the pace before someone saw her in nothing but a towel. When she came up to the corner, she went to turn, but as she rounded the corner, she noticed Neji there a little too late.

Slamming on her breaks, she tried to stop before she ran into him, but there was not enough space inbetween them for her to stop and avoid her collision course. She squeaked as she rammed into him, almost knocking them both over. Both Sakura's arms went out infront of her to cushion her fall, and thankfully Neji caught both of them.

Sakura jumped backwards with the intention of bowing and telling him that she had not meant to bump into him like that, but the look on his face and the blush tainting his cheeks stopped her. His eyes were wide, he almost looked...scared. She was about to ask him what was wrong, when a sudden cold breeze swept by and made her shiver. Neji gulped, his blush deepening.

"Neji? What's wrong" she asked, bringing her hand to her chest to secure her towel. Only, her hand did not find a soft and fuzzy towel, but her chilled flesh. '_Oh dear God'_ she thought, feeling around her chest in search of her towel, not daring to look down. But finding nothing, she had forced herself to look down, and her expression turend to match Neji's.

In her attempt not to fall over on Neji, she had completley forgotten about her towel, throwing out her hands to try to keep her balance. She stood completley nude infront of Neji, who stood completley still, his mouth gaping. Sakura's mind didn't process the fact that he had been staring, or that he had been clenching and unclenching of his hands. Instead she dropped to the floor, grabbed her towel and covered herself from his view.

Neji regained some of his composure then, blinking a couple of times. He should have said something to comfort her, but he knew if he did, then all of his sacrifices and all that he had been through, would be for nothing. So he steeled himself, walked past her, mumbling so that she could hear, that he was right, she had nothing to flaunt.

Instead of getting angry this time, Sakura instead found her eyes welling up with tears. She picked herself up from off the ground and ran into Hinata's room, where she briskly changed, gathered up her belongings, and rushed back out the door. Hinata was on her way to her room with a plate of cookies when Sakura ran past her, tears streaming down her face.

"Sakura?!" Hinata hollered after her best friend, dropping the plate and the cookies and ran after her. Hiashi, who had heard the plate crash, came to see what the fuss was all about. He had come out of his study just in time to see a tearful Sakura rush out the door, closley followed by Hinata. He blinked, "Now what could that possibly have been about?" he wondered aloud.

His answer came in one short, and very angry, yell. "NEJI!!" Hiashi made to open the door and go ask his daughter just what was going on, when said person stormed through the doorway and down the hallway. Never had he seen Hinata so enraged, she had always been kind and gentle, never one for confrontation. Whatever had happened, was enough to turn his sweet little Hinata into a killer.

Neji was long gone, having heard Hinata's furious hollering, and had fled out his window. He wasn't scared by any means, he just didn't want to have to explain himself to her. If Hinata knew, then she would meddle, and above else, he did not need anybody meddling in his affairs. He sat on the rooftop, contemplating when the best time to go back home would be, when an image of Sakura in tears invaded his mind.

The image stung him, and he hung his head. He knew he had hurt her, but it was necessary. It was the only way to keep her at arms length. The only way to save his sanity. Ever since she had started hanging around at his house more often with Hinata, and he had gotten to know her better, he had slowly fallen in love with her. He would never admit it, not even to himself, but he was scared.

Scared of the feelings he was having. Scared to give into them, having always been more logic than heart, he could not figure on paper where things would lead him. And above else, he was scared to hurt her. Though his words he knew hurt her, he also figured that she would forget them in a week or so. But the scar of a ruined relationship never truly healed. And he knew of her infatuation with Sasuke, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt her like he had.

It was well past two in the morning before Neji went back home, using every ounce of stealth he possessed in order not to alert Hinata to his presence. With a large sigh, he threw himself onto his bed, not having the energy to even get changed. His sleep was haunted with dreams of Sakura, crying and hurt, all because of him.

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The next day, Sakura was awakened by a series of knocks at her front door. Sighing, she rolled out of bed and lazily made her way over to her door, barley noticing the fact that she hadn't changed from the night prior. She had been expecting to find Hinata on her doorstep, or Ino or TenTen, but finding Haku on her doorstep was not something she had expected.

"Good morning!" he chirped, smiling so brightly that it put Lee and Gai's glittering smiles to shame. "What are you doing here? I thought I was to contact you at your studio and let you know my answer?" she asked gruffly, still depressed from the events from last night.

"I know, but I just couldn't wait to hear your answer. I have been a heap of anxiety all day, goodness yes. So tell me, have you reached a desicion yet?" She was going to tell him off, when Neji's words came back to her. So, she had nothing to flaunt, huh? Well, she'd let the rest of Konoha decide if she had anything to flaunt.To Hell with modesty!

"I accept" she said sternly, covering her ears as the man screamed with joy. "Excellent! Then we should get started right away! Right now! Our next issue goes out the day after tomarrow, and I have so many plans for you!" he said excitedly, grabbing Sakura's arm and dragging her out the door. Sakura, with all her reflexes, barley had time to grab her door and lock it before she was hauled down the streets of Konoha.

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Two days went by, and Neji had been mostly successful in keeping out of Hinata's way. She had cooled down now, but yesterday he had not been so fortunate. Having had crept past her door just as she came out, he suffered a few bruises and at least one broken bone at the hands of his cousin. It would have been more, had his uncle not stepped in, and if he had actually been defending himself.

He deserved every hit she gave him, and then some, he knew. He heaved a large sigh, and resumed his walk down the crowded streets of Konoha. He was on his way to go train with his team mates, but instead of his usual shortcuts, he decided to take it a little slower today. He had alot on his mind, and he needed time to sort things out before he could concentrate on everything else.

As he walked, he noticed a rather large group of men gathered around a magazine stand. His curiousity got the better of him, and he decided to find out what was attracting so many people. Or, more specifically, men. He found it slightly odd for the group to be only males, looking around, there was indeed no females to be seen.

As he got closer, he realized that getting through the crowd was impossible. Usually, he would just shrug it off and wait until a later time to check things out. But this time, call it destiny, his curiousity grew, and he just had to get to the bottom of this mystery. Activating his byakuugan, he peered through the many people blocking his path, and the sight he was met with at the center of the crowd, had his stomach lurching and his heart in his throat.

On the cover of the magazine that everybody was purchasing, was Sakura, in VERY little clothing. He couldn't help but stare at her, posing suggestivley and grinning innocently. What the hell was this all about?! Why was HIS Sakura on the cover of a magazine looking like THAT?! Not that he minded her looking so positivley gorgeous, but he DID mind the roaming eyes of every Konoha male, single or not seemed to matter little.

Neji didn't know if he wanted to sit down and cry or lash out angirly, he was tempted to do both, but neither was wise to do at the moment so he settled for glaring at the photo. One unlucky man mistook his glare for a lustful stare, and with a cocky smirk, made his way over to Neji and gave him a hearty smack on the back. "They really found one hot chick this month, neh? Man, what I wouldn't give to meet her and take her back to my place for..."

Neji grabbed the man's throat before he could finish uttering his sentence, hefting him up so that his feet were barley touching the ground. "If I so much as see you in the same neighborhood as her, you will feel the full power of my byakuugan" he ground out angirly, resisting the urge to crush the mans larynx and dropping him to the ground before snatching the magazine from the man and storming off in the opposite direction.

All thoughts of going to train were lost, the only thing on his mind was to go confront Sakura about the situation at hand. What could she have been thinking to agree to do such a thing?! Or maybe, she didn't agree to it at all. That got his blood boiling. Who would dare to do such a thing to her? He would find out, and when he found the person responsible for all of this, they would be spending the remainder of what life he would spare them in the hospital.

Making his way up to Sakura's house, he was just in time to see some guy giving Sakura a kiss on the cheek, and that's when he lost it. He raced up to the man, gave him a sharp tug on his shouldar to turn him around, and punched him square in the face. He felt a satisfying crack and warm blood gush out of the young boy's nose onto his fist. He heard Sakura yell to the fallen boy, but he was too caught up in being angry to notice Sakura pulling back her own fist, until he felt her slap him across the face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she hollered at him, hands placed firmly on her hips and glaring daggers at him. The anger in her voice was enough to shake him out of the shock from being slapped, and he glared back at her. "That is precisley what I wanted to ask you" he said. Haku groaned and sat up, holding a hand to his broken nose, hissing in pain when his finger barley brushed the end of it.

"Haku!! Are you alright? Here, let me help you" Sakura cried, bending over and slinging one of his arms over her shoulder and started to slowly lead him to her house. Neji followed closley behind, still scowling as he sat himself down at her table and patiently waited for her to heal the boys bloody nose. When she was finished and he bid his goodbye's, no doubt now terrified of Neji, Sakura stomped over to a now standing Neji. "What the hell is your problem?!" she screeched at him, making him wince from the volume of her voice in his ears.

"Again. That is exactly what I wanted to ask you" Neji said cooly, seeming to have gathered his self control back into a little bottle inside of him. "You're impossible, do you know that? You constantly insult me, then you punch one of my friends and break his nose for absolutley no reason! I think you're the one who better start answering some questions here" she stated, tapping one foot impatiently.

"On the contrary, I do believe it is you who needs an explination for this" Neji retorted, holding up the magazine of which Sakura was displayed on the front cover. Sakura looked back and fourth between Neji and the magazine, "What about it? And since when do you care about my personal life?" "Since your personal life seems to revolve around you showing yourself off to all of the Fire Country!" he shouted, aggravated.

Sakura gasped at his insinuation, and slapped him across the face for a second time. "What I do has nothing whatsoever to do with you! You got that?!" she snapped, getting right in his face. Neji's possessivness flared at her statement, and that little internal bottle he had his self control in shattered, and he snapped like a dry twig.

"It IS my business because YOU ARE MINE!" he hollered, not giving Sakura the chance to reply, as he crushed his lips onto hers in a searing kiss that caught her completley off guard. When he pulled back he expected her to send him flying, but she just stood there blinking owlishly. And then she did something that he really didn't expect, she threw herself at him and set his whole body on fire with a passionate kiss of her own.

As they unlocked their lips from each other's, Neji looked down into Sakura's green half lidded eyes, and murmered two words he never thought he'd say in a million years."I'm sorry." She looked at him with a delicate brow raised in question, "For the kiss?" she asked, and he heard the sadness and hurt in her voice. He shook his head with a small smile, "No, not for the kiss. For the things I've said and done. I am truly sorry."

Sakura smiled, leaning her head into his chest and feeling the calmness that he always seemed to possess, she too felt herself relax. He hugged her to him, wanting to be frozen in time to this moment for eternity, it was so perfect. "Neji" Sakura whispered suddenly, Neji made an un-intelligent grunt as a reply to show he was listening, "...I...love you..."

He tensed at her words and pulled back to stare at her with wide eyes, and when he really looked into her eyes, he saw all the love she had for him reflected in her jade orbs. It was time now to tell her once and for all how he truly and honestly felt. "I love you, too" he said as he placed her forehead to hers and intertwined their fingers together.

"I have for a long time. I just never could tell you, I was afraid of hurting you like Sasuke had" he confessed to her, closing his eyes and breathing in the scent that was Sakura. Sakura brushed her fore-finger across his lips, relishing in their softness before whispering to him. "Sasuke is long gone, he made his choice. I've dealt with it and moved on to better things" she smirked.

They stayed locked in each others embrace for a few minutes, just enjoying the feeling of being in love and being loved in return. That is, until Neji spoke. "So, you're going to stop posing in that magazine...right?"

"No way" Sakura laughed, pulling back and planting a large grin on her face, while Neji's bottom jaw nearly hit the ground. "I thought I already made it clear that you are mine? I don't want any other man to see you in the way that I intend to see you."

Sakura smiled coyly, "No man will, but I am not going to give something up just because one person doesn't like it" Neji sighed, she could be so frustrating sometimes. But then again, that fiery spirit of hers was one of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place. He shook his head but couldn't help the smile that formed on his face, love was truly a wonderous thing. And for the first time in Neji's life, he felt whole and at peace.

"So, when is your next photo shoot then?" he inquired, raising one of his perfect slender brow's. "The day after tomarrow. Why?" she asked curiously. Neji smirked. "Because I'm coming with you so you can show me what I can expect in the future." Sakura laughed, _'Yah right Neji. You might be convincing yourself, but I know better. You just wanna come along so you can keep an eye on the boys in the studio' _ Inner Sakura chuckled. Things were going to be interesting in Konoha from now on, and both Sakura and Neji couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Fin


	2. Epilouge

PlayBoy Sakura.

Epilouge. Now that Neji and Sakura have become an item, Neji doesn't see a point to Sakura continuing on posing, especially after a lewd comment from an audience member. But Sakura refuses to quit just because he wants her to, not liking the idea of becoming a typical housewife. Will their relationship survive? Or was it just never meant to be anything more than wishful thinking? And when Kakashi and Tsunade find out, what exactley will they think?

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Kakashi sighed as he walked through the village of Konoha, flipping through the all too familiar pages of his beloved orange novel. There had been a large decrease of missions latley, which was good for the country, but starting to wear thin on his nerves. To be blunt, he was bored. And not even Icha Icha Paradise seemed to be able to cure him of his seemingly everlasting boredom.

He snapped the book shut with his hand and placed it into the confines of his weapon pouch, and replaced his bored look with an annoyed, and somewhat grumpy look. He happened to look out of the corner of his lone eye as he walked the streets, and caught sight of a billboard advertising Konoha's Cuties.

He had an epiphany then. That was exactley what he needed! A change! Some fresh material! That would surley bring him out of this bored state! He had heard rather juicy gossip flying around Konoha about some new model they had for the magazine, but he never really paid much attention. He had always thought that with Icha Icha around, he would never have the need to stray elsewhere.

But now, things had changed, and even though he cherished his orange novel, this was something that he needed. With these thoughts in mind, Kakashi was a determined man. He would get the latest Konoha's Cuties issue, and thus, he would feel whole once more.

An hour and twenty minutes later, Kakashi was ready to rip out his silvery mane and commit himself to the nearest looney bin. Not one copy of the latest Konoha's Cuties was to be found. Every magazine stand was sold out. Every book store was fresh out. He slumped down on the nearest bench he could find, wallowing in his self pity.

_'Well, maybe I'm just not meant for change'_ he thought to himself._ 'Maybe I'll just end up reading Icha Icha forever and end up being an old boring geezer.' _"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed, grabbing his head as if he were in pain. "Must...not...be...boring...geezer...must...retain...youth..." he murmered to himself, all to glad that Gai hadn't been around to hear that last comment, lest he get one of his little pep talks.

With a shudder and new resolve, Kakashi roamed the streets, desperate to find even an older copy of the magazine. And that's when Lady Luck seemed to have some pity on him, and he happened across a tiny magazine stand, with a sign out front boasting the fact that they sold the very magazine Kakashi had been searching for.

"God, bless this little magazine shack, for it has saved my sanity. Amen." Kakashi whispered, snickering all the way up to the counter. The look on his face was one of pure horror when, just as he strolled up to the stand, the short little man behind the counter put up a sign in big bold letters. "Sold Out of Konoha's Cuties"

"Nooo! Curse you! May your shack burn to the ground!" he cried, pointing an accusing finger at the stout man. "Uh..." was all the man could say, laughing sheepishly. "Please, you must have one copy left? Even an old copy? I don't care!" Kakashi begged, dropping to his knee's. "I'm sorry sir, but..."

"Forget it, move aside!" he ordered, kicking the door on the side in and letting himself in. The poor little man was scared senseless, standing aside as he watched the crazed ninja demolish his stand. But alas, Kakashi couldn't find a single copy of the magazine he so desired. Not even an old one stashed away somewhere. Nothing.

"That's it! It's all over for me! I'm going to end up old and grey and...boring!!" he cried dramatically. He stood to leave, his head hung low in defeat, when he noticed something he hadn't noticed before. There was a small box underneath the counter at the front, and he wasted little time in emptying it of its contents. "Hey! That's mine!" the man protested, but Kakashi ignored him. For he was too busy hearing the angels sing halleluiah. In his hands, he held the newest copy of Konha's Cuties.

"Yes! Yes! YES!" Kakashi cried, hugging the magazine to his chest. "But, that's my copy..." the man started, but thought it wise to shut up when Kakashi glared dangerously at him. Kakashi fished out a couple of bills from his vest pocket and threw them haphazardly at the man, "This is a matter of life and death. I'm sure that, with time, you'll come to forgive me" he said, and then vanished.

He giggled much like a schoolgirl all the way to his favourite spot to read, a large tree that sat just a little ways outside of the village, where he could read his porn in peace. He jumped up into the tree and settled himself in, holding out his new treasure in shaking hands.

Then very slowly, his trembling hands started to open the book, and as the pages started to reveal themselves to him, a bright light shot up out of the book and Heavenly music started playing in the backround. He was on cloud nine. Or, at least, this is how it happened for Kakashi. When he finally cleared the stars from his eyes and had opened the magazine to the first page, he found something he wished he hadn't.

The bright and heavenly light turned to dark and forboding clouds, complete with crashing thunder and bolts of lightning. The music sung by angels was replaced by evil and sinister music, and he swore he could hear someone laughing maniacally in the distance. For there, on the front page of the book, was his one and only female student, Sakura Haruno.

She looked as if she was in a class room, up in front where the teachers stood, and she sat atop the desk, wearing what he thought was a teacher's uniform. But this particular uniform consisted of a small black skirt, and a tight fitting white blouse, complete with knee high stockings and black stiletto's. She sat with one leg crossed over the other, her skirt hiked up so that her black thong was visible. And on her face sat the most devilish little grin he had ever seen.

He blinked once, twice, three times, before his eyes rolled in the back of his head and he fell to the ground with a thud. And he stayed like that, the odd limb twitching every once in a while, until a fellow ninja on his way back from a mission, found him and took him to the hospital for observation. The ninja said that he had found him laying on the ground, mumbling something about the end of the world.

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"Great! Wonderful job, Sakura!" Haku shouted, crying squiggly tears of joy as he watched Sakura pose for the camera. Sakura beamed at him as she continued on with the last few photo shoots for the day. She was wearing a white thong bikini, which looked more like a thong and a bra. But she enjoyed posing in various ways in her sexy little outfits, and she loved how creative she could be depending on the backdrop.

Today was a beach setting, and her hair had been dampened to give the illusion that she had actually been in the water. She ran her fingers through her pink locks, messing things up a bit, which gave her a rather wild look. She got down on her hands and knees, and bent over so that her butt was up in the air. And then she gave the camera an innocent little smile to top things all off.

Then she sat up on her knee's and spread them a bit, putting her hands behind her for support and grinned at the camera. A round of applause was heard from the back, and Sakura giggled when she discovered that Haku was the only one clapping at the time. He was a rather excitable little fellow with energy to spare, and Sakura liked that about him. At times when she was feeling down, when he was around, it was as if she absorbed some of his energy herself.

Of course, then there was Neji in the back, glaring hotly at the cameramen. She never thought that she would have life so good. Here she was, dating Neji Hyuuga, feeling sexier than ever posing for Konoha's leading magazine, and she finally had enough cash to buy a top of the line air conditioner. Yah, life was good for Sakura Haruno right now.

She had a sexy man, a good job, and her independance. She couldn't have been happier. "Alright, time to switch sets!" someone yelled from the back. With a nod, Sakura stood up and walked to the back where Neji stood, opening his arms to her. She was all too happy to comply, leaning in to give him a quick peck on the lips, before snuggling into his warm embrace.

"Mmmm, I could get used to this" she said, smiling into his chest. Neji grinned down at her, hugging her to him in an embrace that he wished would never end. She fit so perfectley in his arms, like her body was made only for his arms alone. He quite liked that thought. She was his. And he was hers. She was like his trophy, something he could show off to others, but something that he alone could touch.

They had been officially an item for a month now, and every male in Konoha knew to keep their hands off, if they wanted their arms attached to the rest of their body's. "Sakura, time to change" a woman hollered to her, making Sakura groan a bit. "But I was so comfy" she pouted, making Neji chuckle. "After we are done here for the day, I thought we could go out for dinner."

"Ooh, that sounds great. Maybe we could join Hinata and Naruto for Ramen" Sakura laughed, kissing his twitching brow before leaving for her dressing room. Neji smirked, "You've got yourself a deal." He smiled genuinley as he heard Sakura giggle from behind the closed door, loving how she sounded when she laughed. She had an ability to soothe his frazzled nerves, to calm him like no one else could.

He sat and waited patiently while Sakura changed her clothing, most likley she was waist deep in different outfits and she didn't know which one to try out next. He had to admit, she had looked ravishing and down right sexy in most of the outfits. They all had him thinking thoughts that were none too innocent. He just hated the fact that other men were going to see her like that, his Sakura, in skimpy little outfits, showing off her fantastic body.

But he also knew that he would be the one to do more than just look, and that gave him some peace of mind. Sakura was happy doing her part time work here, and if she was happy, then he guessed that he couldn't complain much. He just couldn't wait until this job ended so that he could keep her all to himself. At the sound of a door creaking open, Neji opened his pearly eyes to gaze upon a sight that had every male in the room gushing blood from their nose.

Sakura walked out in what was once a referee outfit, but had been drastically altered to suit her tastes. It was now just a tiny black and white skirt that covered just the bare essentials, and a sleevless top that had two pieces of fabric come around the front of her and tied up to support her breasts. She wore black stockings that came to rest just below her knee's, and dainty black high heels. Her look was completed with her long cherry pink hair done up in a high pony tail, and a whistle resting, almost teasing, right in the valley of her breasts.

"Ta-da" she said, twirling around and letting her skirt flutter up a bit just so that the slightest glimpse of her butt cheeks were visible. Neji gulped and quickly wiped his nose. She talked happily with another woman as a corrosponding set to her costume was brought in, and then she started to pose. A soccer ball was thrown to her for a couple of the shots, and for the remainder of the time, she had improvised.

An hour later, Haku came out from the back, applauding once again. "Astonishing, Sakura. Truly! The audience will surley be as over-joyed as I am at how this month's issue turned out. Gracious, I have so much work to do. So many pictures to choose from! Goodness, yes!" Sakura beamed at him, "Thanks, I hope you're right."

"Of course I'm right, silly! So far the magazines have been selling like hot cakes since your debut!" Haku chirped, holding out an envelope to her. "Here, here. This is for you. For all of your hard work. Gracious me, yes!". Sakura thanked him as she accepted the envelope and proceeded to tear it open carefully. She reached inside and pulled out a cheque for $4500, and nearly fainted from surprised.

"This is nearly triple the price we agreed on when I first started!" she gasped, staring at the cheque. "Yes yes, well, you have worked so hard, goodness yes. And the people all love you. So I thought we'd celebrate with a bonus. You certainly have earned it. Yup yup!" Thankfully for Sakura, Neji had come up behind her and gave her his support as she wobbled on her legs.

"I...don't know..if I can accept this" she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. "Nonsense, you deserve it. Go on, take it. I insist" Haku continued in a sing-song voice. She looked to Neji for his approval, somehow feeling like she was robbing, but when Neji smiled and nodded at her, relief flowed over her entire body. "Okay then, if you insist. Thank you, Haku."

"Oooooh, it is such a good feeling meeting reliable people person's such as yourselves. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Gracious me, yes!" Haku cried, nearly exploding with uncontained joy. "Alright, well, I guess that concludes today's session. See you all next week!" Haku chirped, waving as everybody left. But when Sakura and Neji stepped outside, they were nearly mobbed by hundreds of people, mostly males and even a handful of women, all chanting Sakura's name.

"Oh.My.God." Sakura said, blinking in pure astonishment. The people cheered and whistled at Sakura's every move, which made her feel just a tad nervous. What did she do now? She could simply just run back inside, or use a ninjutsu and vanish in a puff of smoke. But she didn't want to give a bad impression of her or the company she worked for. She took hold of Neji's arm, feelings more uneasy by the second.

"Sakura! You're the greatest!" "Marry me, Sakura!" " I love you, Sakura!!!"

Neji's eyebrow twitched as random shouts of decleration of love were shouted to her, and he became increasingly angered by how they were scaring Sakura. As far back as he could remember, he had never seen Sakura so unsure of herself, so scared. How dare they make her feel that way!

And then, one voice cried out above all the others. "Are you a virgin?!" Neji snapped like a dry twig, and before anybody could blink, he had activated his byakugaan and was running full-speed at the man. Sakura's eyes widened and her heart thudded in her ears, "Oh shit!" she cursed as she ran after Neji. She poured every ounce of chakra she had into her legs, trying to at least match Neji's speed.

She weaved in and out of the crowd with lightening speed, and luckily for her, she had finally caught up with Neji. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop him from attacking on her own, she could try to block his path, but felt that if he were to accidently attack her instead, he would never forgive himself. She didn't need to give neither of them more drama, so she wracked her brain for a solution.

That's when it hit her, and she skidded to a halt. As quickly as she could manage, she performed the necessary hand signs. "Earth style: Head hunter jutsu!" she cried, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Neji was seconds away from pounding the man into next year, when something grabbed his ankle and nearly sent him sprawling to the ground.

He turned angry eyes to the ground to see a hand clutching his ankle, and before he could try to pull free, the hand tugged him downwards and buried all but his head in the ground. He struggled madly to get free, but a voice stopped him. "Neji" Sakura's voice said from above him. "I'm sorry, I had no other choice."

"You could have let me kill the bastard" he spat out, soon regretting the venom laced in his voice. She narrowed her eyes at him. "I could have let you kill an innocent man?" she asked him, shock evident in her voice. Neji growled, but his anger soon faded. He knew she was right. He would have regreted it for the rest of his life if he had actually succeded in killing the man, no matter how angry he was at the time. "You're right. I'm sorry, Sakura. It's just that...what he said..."

He stopped as he felt Sakura's hand cupping his cheek, her thumb rubbing his skin tenderly. "I know." she said simply, smiling gently at the man whom she loved. During this time, the man had enough brains to sneak away during their little talk. The crowd dispersed then, all to afraid of Neji to stick around while he was dug out.

She had just free'd one of his arms when Sakura heard her name being called again, she looked back to find Tsunade walking towards them. "What is going on here?" she asked, looking from Sakura to a half buried Neji. "It's a long story, Tsunade-sama" Sakura said, smiling sheepishly. "I'll just bet, and you can tell me all about it right now, in my office" Tsunade said, turning and walking back the way she came.

"I have such a bad feeling about this" she mumbled as she stood up, Neji raising a brow in curiousity. "Sakura, what are you..." Unfortunatley for Neji, he still had his byakuugan activated, and thus was able to see Sakura gather chakra into her arm and hand. He realized all to late what she was doing. In one swift movement, Sakura brought her fist crashing to the ground, causing a fissure in the earth, that headed right towards Neji. Thankfully for him though, Sakura hadn't put alot of chakra into her punch, so he wasn't sent flying with the rubble.

Neji coughed a bit from inhaling some of the dust, lifting himself up and dusting off his traditional Hyuuga clothing. "Thank you" he said, almost sarcastically. But Sakura either ignored it or didn't notice, she just smiled at him and followed after Tsunade. He watched as she disappeard into the distance, heaving a large sigh after she had disappeared altogether. _'There goes the time we were going to spend together' _he thought. _'Had I known this was going to happen, I wouldn't have asked her to keep on that referee outfit'._

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Sakura fidgeted nervously as she walked behind her Hokage, not daring to speak at all. Tsunade didn't seem like she was in a very good mood right now, and Sakura didn't feel like being on the receiving end of her wrath or massive strength. So she opted to just trail silently behind her, trying to figure out why Tsunade would be so upset with her.

Sakura was confused, to say the least, when Tsunade led her into the hospital. She felt dread sneak it's way into her heart, did something happen to one of her friends? "Tsunade-sama...? Sakura asked, gulping as her mentor stopped and looked back at her. "What's going on?" Tsunade didn't answer, instead she turned and kept on walking.

Now Sakura was nervous. Something was wrong, that much she knew. She became even more nervous as Tsunade invited her into a vacant office and shut the door behind them. "Sit" Tsunade ordered, to which Sakura complied obediently. Sakura looked at Tsunade with glistening eyes, fearing the worst. The room was plagued with silence for a few minutes, which felt like hours to Sakura, before Tsunade spoke.

"Kakashi was found outside the village, nearly unconscience." she said, watching as Sakura's eye's widened and a couple tears made their way down her cheeks. "Nobody knows what happened, he hasn't woke up yet. But we think that..." Tsunade tried to say, but was cut off when Sakura bolted upright suddenly. "He can't die! He's like a second father to me!" she cried, turning and running out the door.

"No! Wait, Sakura!" Tsunade hollered after the distraught girl, cursing before giving chase. Sakura paid no mind to the weird looks she got as she ran through the hospital, only caring about finding her sensei. 'Please, don't die on me, Kakashi-sensei!' she mentally pleaded, her tears fogging her vision slightly. She rounded a corner and nearly ran into another nurse, who nearly dropped her tray of supplies in surprise.

"Please, what room is Hatake Kakashi in?" she asked, her chest heaving from running so hard. The nurse blinked and pointed to the room from which she had just come out of, squeaking in surprise as Sakura nearly shoved her out of the way and rushed into the room. She came to stand beside his bed, crying as he lay there unconscience.

She took Kakashi's hand in hers and squeezed it gently, feeling a piece of her heart breaking. "Kakashi-sensei, please wake up. I haven't had a chance to thank you for all that you've done for me. For how you taught me to be strong, and for all the courage you've given me. And you still have so many jutsu's to teach me" she bawled, squeezing his hand a little tighter.

She squeezed her eyes shut, bending over and sobbing on Kakashi's chest. And that's when she heard it. A tiny groan. She shot up and looked into the lone eye of Kakashi Hatake. "Ugh, my head" Kakashi groaned, lifting his hand with the intention of nursing his pounding skull, but found Sakura's hand in his. "Sakura?" he asked groggily, noticing her red eyes and tear stained cheeks.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she wailed, throwing herself at him and hugging him tightly. "I'm so happy you're okay. I was so scared you were going to die" she whispered, sniffling. Kakashi returned her embrace, patting her on the back. "I can't die yet, Sakura. Who would look after you and Naruto if I weren't around?" he joked, his mask crinkling in what she assumed was a smile.

She laughed and wiped her tears, standing back to give Kakashi some air. "I had such a crazy dream about you, Sakura. You were posing in some magazine with barley any clothes on and..." he trailed off, looking up to Sakura to laugh at his dream. But when he took a better look at her, he didn't laugh. Sakura stood infront of him with her tiny referee costume still on. "It...w-wasn't a d-d-d-dream...? ...GAAAAAAH!" he screamed, fainting again.

"Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura said, shaking him gently. "And he just woke up, too" Tsunade sighed from the doorway, shaking her head. Sakura looked back and fourth from Kakashi to Tsunade, "What is going on?" she asked, completley baffled at this point. "From what we can tell, Kakashi had a mental overload when he found you posing in this magazine" she explained, holding a copy of Konoha's Cuties infront of her.

"I...still don't quite understand..." she said, taking a seat and rubbing her temples. "You were Kakashi's only female student, and you said that you thought of him as like a second father. It turns out that he thinks of you as like a daughter. Now, how do you think a father, or any parent, would react to seeing his only daughter posing in a magazine such as this?" Tsunade asked, raising one brow gracefully.

Sakura blinked a couple of times, realization finally sinking in. "Oh..." was all that she said, feeling tremendously guilty. "And since we're on the subject of your new career, I've only got one thing to say to you" Tsunade said. Sakura gulped and her heart pounded in her ears, her face turning a ghostly white at the thought of what exactley Tsunade was about to tell her.

"I'm so proud of you" Tsunade said, smiling gently. "You're so mean, Tsunade-sama! And it's all Neji's fault anyway and...eh?" Sakura started to cry, but after realizing that Tsunade hadn't scolded her and told her how disappointed she was in her, she stood in pure confusion. "You're...not angry with me?" she asked, completley thunderstruck.

"Disappointed? Of course not, Sakura!" Tsunade laughed. "You have the courage and confidence to be proud of your body, and do it with class. You remind me so much of myself at your age, for I too posed in Konoha's Cuties." "Really?" Sakura asked, forgetting all about her most likley forever disturbed sensei. "Yup, and I have had everlasting confidence ever since" Tsunade said, smirking.

Sakura continued to ask questions about the different outfits she wore, and advice on poses and what not as they made their way out of Kakashi's room and out of the hospital. They decided to go out for lunch and continue their conversation, Sakura loving to bond with her mentor, and Tsunade loving to re-live her youth. They wound up in a quaint little restaurant, famous for its dango and yakitori, and it was here that Sakura explained the entire situation from start to finish.

After a couple hours, Tsunade bid Sakura farewell and left, leaving Sakura to her thoughts. She felt releived, to say the least. After thinking that Kakashi was on his death bed and that Tsunade was furious with her, only to find that it was not so. But she still did feel bad for Kakashi's reaction, but she had never fathomed the idea of him seeing her in the magazine, as he always read that orange novel of his. Or anybody else for that matter.

Then it struck her. Who else that she knew was aware of her being in that magazine? She felt queasy all of the sudden. If someone like Jiraiya saw her posing like that...she really didn't want to finish her thought. _'Ugh, creepy' _Inner Sakura groaned. She looked up to the sky just in time to see the sun setting, and an array of brilliant oranges, pinks, and red's that lit up the sky.

"Thank goodness, now it will finally cool down for a few hours" Sakura said to herself, and that's when another thought occured to her. She just got paid, and she had enough out of this cheque alone to buy herself a brand spanking new air conditioner. Any negative thoughts she had vanished, thinking only about getting to the store as quickly as possible and obtaining her new toy.

Fifteen minutes later, she had successfully bought herself one of the best air conditioners available, a half an hour later she had got it home and out of the box, forty five minutes later she had it set up and running. She sprawled out on her couch and let the cool air wash over her, enjoying the feeling of the cold air take the place of the hot and muggy air.

She was so taken up in the cool breeze that was sweeping through her room, that she hadn't noticed another presence in her house, a presence that was silently creeping up behind her couch. No, she hadn't noticed at all...until it was too late. All at once, a pair of arms swooped down and pinned Sakura to her couch, making her snap her eyes open and she immediatley went into defense mode.

Without thought or hesitation, she started focusing her chakra into her arms and tried to overpower her opponent. But even with her strength amplified with her chakra, she couldn't manage to budge. So, instead, she redirected her chakra into her legs and prepared to kick the intruder down. But she soon found she couldn't do this either, for as soon as she started to focus her chakra into her legs, she felt a weight drop ontop of her, and assumed that the person had pinned her down with their own body.

She struggled and strained against the person, squeezing her eyes shut as she once more attempted to overpower the person. And as if her predicament weren't enough, she felt a hand snaking its way up her thigh. 'No!' she screamed mentally, wriggling and writhing beneath the person. "Now now," a husky voice whispered in her ear, "Is that any way to treat the man you love?".

She stopped squirming then, much to the amusement of the man, as she leard him give a low chuckle. Fear and panic were the farthest things from her mind now as she turned her eyes to gaze into the pearly deapths of her lover, Neji. "Neji" she breathed, relieved. "Ooh, I like it when you say my name like that" he teased, chuckling some more as Sakura shot him a mock glare.

"You brute, you really know how to scare a girl" she said with a pout. Neji smirked, "A kunoichi should never let her guard down." Now it was Sakura's turn to smirk, "Do you think I had given up? You should know me better than that, dear." Neji looked confused until Sakura gestured to her legs, and when he saw them, a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his head.

He hadn't thought she was still collecting chakra in her legs, but she had been. And during all her wriggling, she was working her leg slowly out of its bind, bringing it up so that she could knee her attacker in the groin. "Well, it seems I have under estimated you, Haruno Sakura" he said, pride evident in his voice. "Apparently" she agreed.

Neji smirked as he dipped his head down and captured her lips with his own, his smirk growning as he heard Sakura's moans of pleasure. When he broke their kiss, he stared down lovingly at her. Her eyes were half lidded, and her lips were curved upwards into a satisfied smile. He had never wanted her more than he did right then. He dipped his head down to capture her lips once more, staying there for a moment before trailing off down her jaw, then to her neck, and then just above her breasts.

His pants got tighter and tighter at the sounds of Sakura's heavy pants and mewls of pleasure, and he could not stop himself from busying his hands with the task of undoing her shirt. While he was doing that, Sakura took this opportunity to run her fingers through his chestnut locks, loving the silky feeling that rivaled her own hair. "I love you, Hyuuga Neji" Sakura breathed as he kissed a particularly sensitive spot. "I love you, too, Haruno Sakura." No more words needed to be said, and they spent the remainder of the night making love

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"Hello Mr.Flower" Sakura chirped as she practically skipped to the hospital. "Hello Mr.Birdy!" she sang, waving to a white and grey speckled bird flying overhead. "Good morning Mr.Sun!" she beamed, smiling so brightly that it nearly put the sun to shame. "Good morning fellow shinobi!" Sakura sang as she skipped into the Yamanaka flower shop.

Ino, who was working at the counter, blinked and cocked her head to the side. She watched as Sakura picked out a bouquet of daisy's, and brought them up to the counter to pay, sniffing them as Ino calculated the price. "You had sex, didn't you?" Ino asked bluntly, making Sakura drop her money on the counter and turning her cheeks a nice healthy shade of pink.

She could only blink at Ino, who looked at her with a" I thought so" look. Ino shook her head, "God, it must be nice. I haven't gotten laid since...Hell, I don't even remember!" she complained, ignoring the fact that Sakura's healthy shade of pink went about five shades deeper, and her eyes were the size of dinner plates. Ino laughed at her. "It's not easy to hide things from me, Billboard Brow. You should know that by now".

Sakura couldn't say anything, whether it was shock or complete embarrassment, no one knew. All she did was stay completley frozen in place, not even raising a curious brow when a tumble weed blew by. Finally, she spoke. "Well, this is awkward..." she said, wiping some imaginary wrinkles from her blouse. "This is awkward? How can this be more awkward than this?" Ino asked, holding up the latest issue of Konoha's Cuties.

"Because that isn't about yours or my sexual life" Sakura answered, completley unphased by the fact that Ino had a copy. She wasn't sure why she hadn't told her friends about her debut in the magazine. It could have been the fact that she was too caught up in trying to focus on her work, or that she was too busy trying to get back at Neji, OR she was too involved with her work.

Whatever the case, she knew that it wouldn't take her three best friends to find out about it, as they always seemed to squeeze their way into her personal life. But as much as it irritated her at times, she was grateful at the same time. The first few times were completely and totally awkward for her, and she had never been so embarrassed in her entire life.

But as time progressed, she found that being so open with them had really helped her through the years. They had all created a deeper understanding of one another, and thus, they had a deep personal bond with each other as well. And they knew that they could always talk to each other about anything and everything, and never be judged or laughed at. It was a good feeling knowing you had friends you could talk to about such things.

Still, she hadn't quite expected Ino to know so much about her that she could tell when she had sex. "I'm impressed, Sakura. Who knew you had it in you to do something like this" Ino laughed, interupting Sakura's thoughts. Sakura had to smile, "There are lots of things I'm capable of that you wouldn't expect me to do." "So it would appear" a voice chimed in from behind them.

Sakura jumped and whirled around, coming face to face with a grinning TenTen. "TenTen!" she gasped in surprise, holding a hand to her chest in an attempt to slow down her racing heart. "I'm so proud of you, Sakura! I would have never had the guts to do something like that!" TenTen squealed happily, crushing her friend in a hug.

"Really?" Sakura asked, "You and Ino are who I totally would have expected to be in that magazine. I mean, you two have show off worthy bodies." Both Ino and TenTen beamed at her, but shook their heads. "Nah, I'm too shy for that sorta thing" TenTen laughed, blushing. "I would, but I doubt Shikamaru would approve" Ino snickered, imagining how freaked out he'd be if he saw her posing in such a magazine.

"No kidding, Lee would totally flip out on me" TenTen said, erupting into fits of laughter. "Actually, I'm surprised that Neji is handling it so well. He didn't seem the type to let his girlfriend flaunt her body all over the place" Ino said, bending over and resting her elbows on the counter, and then her chin in her hands. "He says he's okay with it, but I know he doesn't like it one bit. He just does it to make me happy" Sakura said with a gentle smile and soft eyes.

"I knew beneath that hard crunchy exterior there was a soft caramel center!" Ino exclaimed, her and TenTen bursting out in laughter at the statement. Sakura laughed too, until her stomach decided to interupt and grumbled lowly. "All this talk about crunchy, caramel filled boyfriends is making me hungry" she laughed, patting her stomach.

"Same here, why don't we all go out to lunch together?" Ino suggested with a bright smile. "But, aren't you working?" TenTen asked. "Mom! Dad! I'm going out for a while!" Ino screeched, taking off her apron and tossing it aside. "Nope" she grinned, practically shoving her two friends out the door. The two blinked owlishly at her a couple of times, before merely shrugging their shouldars. That was Ino for you.

They talked animatedly amongst each other as they walked, heading towards a tiny restaurant nestled away, surrounded by pricy and flashy buidlings. It was, In Sakura's personal opinion, the best restaurant in Konoha. They served traditional Japanese dishes that were cooked to perfection, and each bite was more delicious than the last.

They sat down at their table in a tatami room and were greeted by the warm smile of an elderly woman. "Sakura, what a delight to see you" the woman said, her smile widening. "Hello Yuki, long time no see. How're you doing?" The old woman shrugged, "Could be better, but it could always be worse. Now then, enough chit chat, I'm sure you're all hungry. What shall I get you lovely ladies to drink?"

"I'll have green tea, please." TenTen said cheerfully. "Iced tea for me" Ino chirped. "Make that two iced teas, please and thank you" Sakura said with a bright smile. Yuki bowed and left them to their conversation, shuffling in behind the curtain that led to the kitchen. "Do you know her?" TenTen asked, leaning back comfortably. "Sort of. I found this restaurant when I was a genin. I had just finished training and was completley exhausted, and starving. I stopped in at the first restaurant I found, which was this one. I've been coming here ever since."

TenTen and Ino nodded at her explination. "I want to take Neji here sometime, he'd love the yakitori here. It's delicious". Sakura continued, zoning out into her own little world. A few minutes later, during checking the menu and normal chit chat, their drinks arrived. Ino took a sip of her iced tea, and gasped as the liquid hit her tounge. "Ino?" Sakrua asked, eyebrow raised in curiousity. "This iced tea...it's the best iced tea I've ever tasted" she exclaimed, bringing the glass back to her lips and letting the cool liquid fill her mouth and then trickle down her throat.

"Told you it was good" Sakura said with a small laugh. "Have you decided what you'll be having this afternoon?" Yuki asked politley, readying her pen and paper. "Yah, we've decided to get the Sashimi, Sushi & Maki Tray" Sakura answered, smiling. "Ah, excellent choice. I'll be back shortly with your order" she said, giving another bow and making her way into the back.

When their food arrived, they wasted no time digging in. "If the drinks are this good, imagine how good the food is" TenTen said, admiring the platter set before them. Sakura squealed with delight as she stuck a particularly juicy shrimp in her mouth, when a bop on her head nearly made her spit it right back out. "Owwie" she whined, turning her head around to glare at her attacker, but ended up smiling.

"Hinata!" she said with a smile, "what brings you here?". Hinata didn't say a thing, instead she held up a book infront of her. "Why didn't you tell me" she asked, giving Sakura a glare. But Sakura still only smiled at her, "Because you're the one who told me to go for it, and you know that I almost always end up doing what you suggest in the end."

HInata glared at her for another minute, but in the end she gave up and opted just to sigh. It was no use arguing about it now. "Move over" she ordered playfully, taking the opportunity to shove Sakura lightly. The four of them ate and talked and laughed, something that they rarley had the chance to do anymore. The bill came forty minutes later, along with chocolate covered mints, and everyone was digging into their pockets to fish out some money, when Sakura stopped them.

"My treat" she beamed, putting the money plus a tip on the tray. "Are you sure, Sakura?" TenTen asked as she bit into her chocolate. "Of course. I did get paid yesterday, plus I got a bonus. Besides, think of it as my way of apologizing for not letting you guys be the first to know." "Well, okay. But we're not letting you off the hook so easily next time" Hinata laughed. "Yah, we can't be bought with some gourmet food complete with minty chocolates" Ino agreed with a smirk.

They left the restaurant, bellies full and minds at peace. They decided that they should spend the rest of the day together, just hanging out and doing the girl thing. "First thing's first though, I've got to drop off these flowers at the hospital for Kakashi-sensei" Sakura said. "Kakashi-sensei? Is he alright?" Hinata asked, worried. Sakura scoffed, "Yah, he's fine". She told her friends how Kakashi had freaked when he saw her in the magazine, and then again when she thought he was dieing in the hospital.

All four of them had to stop as they laughed hysterically, leaning on nearby buildings for support. After five minutes of gut wrenching laughter, they had finally calmed down enough to continue walking. Though snorts of laughter did occur every couple minutes, mostly from Ino and TenTen.

After the deed of dropping off the flowers was done, they made their way to their favourite little clothing store. Sakura was the only one who bought any clothes, having spotted the cutest little outfit she had ever seen. It was a small black skirt that had a chain wrapped around the hem, complete with a white blouse. She made a bee line for the shoe department, searching for the perfect shoes to go with her new outfit. She squealed happily as she found what she was looking for, a pair of black knee high boots.

And the best part was that the boots were on sale, which meant she should have enough money leftover to buy a cute accessory or two to go along with her new outfit. "Oh, how about these?" Hinata asked, holding out a pair of earrings in the shape of shuriken. "They're so adorable!" TenTen squealed, grabbing up a pair for herself. "Well now I've seen everything" Ino laughed, flipping through the selection of earrings.

They had earrings that looked like mini shuriken's, kunai knives, and even with the symbol for Konoha. Their selection of necklaces were much the same, except for a bit more of a variety, spanning from ninja tools to butterflies and frogs. "You know you live in a ninja village when you see merchandise like this" Hinata giggled. They all nodded in agreement.

Sakura paid for her new clothes and then excused herself, snickering all the way to the changing room. A few minutes later Sakura waltzed out the door, posing for her friends with a grin. "So, whaddya think?" she asked, twirling. Her friends clapped, and Ino even whistled, much to everyone's amusement. "Thank you" Sakura bowed, grinning like a mad person as she thought of Neji's reaction to her outfit.

They were chatting happily as they made their exit from the store, until a scream tore them from their conversation. Their heads whipped in the direction of the scream, and they found Naruto pointing at them, jaw hanging wide open. "Naruto? What's wrong?" Hinata asked the blonde as he marched up to them. "You!" Naruto cried, sticking his finger in Sakura's face. "Me?" she asked curiously, tilting her head back away from the accusing finger.

"Yah, you! Whaddya think you're doing?!" he yelled. Sakura raised her eyebrow, "Uhm, well I was in the middle of shopping and..." "No No NO! Not that. THAT!" he continued to holler, pointing at her outfit. By this time, Sakura was about ready to snap. She grabbed Naruto's finger that insisted on being stuck in her face and squeezed it so hard that it brought poor Naruto to tears.

"I think I'm doing whatever I damn well please, Naruto. And last I checked, I wasn't your girlfriend, Hinata was!" she said through clenched teeth. "Ow ow ow ow! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he whined, kissing his poor abused finger when Sakura finally let it out of her iron grasp. "You've got some nerve, Naruto. You know that?" she said, glaring at him.

"But Sakura, you don't understand. I punched out at least twenty guys today because of you. You shoulda heard the stuff they were sayin'! I just...I got so mad...you're like my best friend..." he trailed off, his head dropping. _'Ooooh, how can I stay mad at him when he looks like that? All sad and pouty, like a little puppy in trouble' _Inner Sakura sighed. "Thank you, Naruto" Sakura said, making Naruto perk up instantly. "I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble, but I knew from the beginning that this sort of thing may happen. But I'm happy that you're still sticking up for me, just as you always have."

Naruto grinned like a maniac, before pulling Sakura into a hug. "I'll always defend you, Sakura. You're my team mate!" _'Not to mention your crush of like 10 years'_ Inner Sakura giggled to herself. This was where they all bid each other farewell, having had enough excitement for one day. Sakura held up a hand to her head, what a crazy day it had been so far. And for some reason, in the pit of her stomach, she had a feeling that it wasn't over just yet.

The feeling plagued her all the while she walked, and once she reached her house, it only intensified. She just could not shake the feeling of, for lack of a better word, doom. It didn't feel like an 'end of the world' kinda feeling, although it certainly didn't feel like rainbow's and lollipop's either. She shook her head as she tried to force the feeling from her being as she opened her door, but it was stubborn and clung to her like glue.

When she walked into her living room, she saw Neji. And for reasons she didn't know nor understand, it felt like the bottom dropped out of her stomach. That definatley was not the usual feeling she had when she saw him. It was more like a big warm hug from the inside out, and her lips would betray her and would curve into a smile on their own accord.

But not this time. And when he noticed her, he didn't exactley look to happy either. _"Oh dear, this can't be good' _she thought, gulping as Neji walked towards her. "Hey Neji, how's it goin'?" she asked as she plastered a fake smile on her face. But Neji didn't smile. "We need to talk." Sakura felt her stomach lurch, _'Oh my God! Is...is he...going to break up with me?!' _she thought wildly, biting her lips so that she could keep her tears at bay.

_'Now now, let's not jump to conclusions here. Just calm down. It's probably nothing' _she told herself, trying to act normal as she sat on her couch beside Neji, forcing herself to take deep breaths. At first, Neji said nothing. He just sat there, looking as calm and peaceful as ever. Sakura cursed him for being able to keep his cool so well, while an internal battle raged inside of her.

"I want you to quit" he said finally, turning his white eyes to look directly into her own eyes. "Quit? Quit what?" she asked dumbly, all too relieved to hear that it wasn't what she had assumed at all. "Everything. Quit posing. Quit being a kunoichi. Quit being a medical ninja."

"...Excuse me?" Sakura asked, all thoughts and feelings of sadness gone and replaced by pure anger. "I don't want you posing in that magazine anymore, and I don't want you being a kunoichi at all. I want you to live a regular woman's life." he said in a emotionless voice. Sakura didn't respond, instead she stood up slowly and kept her gaze glued to the floor.

She clenched her hands into fists at her side, so hard in fact, that blood started to drip from them. It took every ounce of will power she possessed not to smash everything in her house, and without a word, she started for her door. But Neji wouldn't let it go so easily. "You will quit those things" he said, and that's when Sakura did snap. "I will NOT quit those things! I will not just bend to your will and become useless! You do NOT decide what I will and will not do. End of discussion!" she hollered at him.

"You WILL quit because I am ordering you..." Neji started, but didn't have a chance to finish as Sakura's fist connected with his cheek, sending him flying backwards into a wall. "No one orders Sakura Haruno around" she seethed, unable to stop her tears from flowing down her cheeks. And with that, Sakura spun around and raced towards her door.

Neji cursed darkly as he shoved himself out from the hole in the wall and lunged towards her, grabbing her arm. He regretted it though, as soon as he took hold of her arm, Sakura tried to punch him again. Luckily, Neji ducked out of the way at the last possible second, and still had a firm grip on her arm. "Let go of me Neji" Sakura hissed, trying to pull her arm out of his grasp. But he refused, quickly snatching her other arm. "Will you just listen to me?!" he asked, nearly growling in frustration as Sakura wriggled wildly as she tried to get free.

"I heard you the first time, and my answer is no! And if you don't like it, then you never really loved me to begin with!! Now get your hands off of me before I really loose my temper" she threatened, already building up chakra throughout her body. The words echoed through Neji's head, _'Then you never really loved me to begin with!!'_ "Damn it, Sakura!" Neji growled, using his strength to push a surprised Sakura backwards into the wall, and pinning her arms above her into the wall.

"Now listen, the only reason I want you to quit is because I hate having men stare at you like you're some piece of meat! I hate the thought of the disgusting acts they commit as they take their magazines home! Naruto was just covering for me, he didn't punch anybody. I did! Do you not understand how much I love you?!" he hollered at her, desperatley trying to make her understand him. "I really don't care!" she spat back, "Besides, you're the one who pushed me into posing in the magazine! And furthermore, what does that have to do with my being a kunoichi?!"

"Do you honestly think I want you involved in such a dangerous life?! Don't you know how terrified I am of you getting a mission, and then never coming back from it?!" "Oh, so in other words, you're mocking my abilities as a kunoichi" "Arrgh, you aren't even trying to understand!" Neji yelled in pure frustration, letting his grip lessen just a bit as his nerves were one by one snapping.

But it was all that Sakura needed, and in her furious state of mind, she took this opportunity to bring her knee up and slam it into Neji's stomach. He hissed in pain and coughed, the air having been knocked from his lungs. "Think I'm still just a weak little girl now?" she taunted, smirking down at him. "Sakura!" Neji hollered before bouncing back to his feet and charging at her, intent on slamming her back into the wall and making her listen to him.

But she dodged his attack, side stepping him and whacking him upside the head. _'So much for going easy on her' _he thought to himself as he turned to look at her. She was in her fighting stance, ready for whatever he could dish out. And dish it out he would. If this was the only way to make her understand just how much she really meant to him, then so be it.

In a flash, he had vanished. Sakura widened her eyes, and before she could locate him, he appeared behind her and hit just inbehind her knee's, making her topple over. She squeaked as she fell, but caught herself just before she crashed into the ground. She swung her fist as his head, but he caught it with what seemed to be very little effort, which only served to tick Sakura off more.

She pumped chakra into the fist that he currently had a hold on, pulled it back, and then shot it forward. The force making Neji loose his grip on her and he was sent flying, again, this time through the wall and into the bedroom. He rubbed his head as it banged into the bedframe, coming to his senses just in time to avoid Sakura's foot heading towards his stomach.

"Sakura, I don't want to hurt you" he said, somewhat calmly."Hah!" she scoffed, completley ignoring him as she charged towards him again. But Neji stood his ground, waiting for just the right moment. Just as she was about to send him flying again, he ducked her fist and rolled behind her. Grabbing her from behind, he threw her onto the bed, and then jumped ontop of her, pinning her body beneath his.

Sakura growled as she tried to forcefully remove him, but gasped when she found that she couldn't. "That's right" Neji said from above her, "I've blocked off your chakra, so now you can't send me flying through anymore walls". _'At least, not as easily as before' _he added mentally. But this didn't stop Sakura from trying, she kicked and wriggled and squirmed frantically. But Neji would not relenquish his hold so easily.

But Neji did notice something else. He was completley aroused. And not just because of all her squirming. Her fiery attitude, the sweat that glistened on her flushed skin, and how mad she looked. Not to mention the heaving breaths had her breasts rocking back and fourth in front of him. Everything about this moment turned him on. And he did the one thing Sakura hadn't expected him to. He bent down and kissed her with more passion and need than ever before.

Sakura wanted to stop him. Wanted to bite his tounge that was licking at her lips, and pretty much forcing its way into her mouth. She wanted to kick him off of her. But she couldn't, and as his lips insistantly moved against hers, she found that she couldn't resist him, nevermind stopping him. The arms he had used to pin her down were now busy undoing the buttons and zippers of her clothing. The arms that were used to punch at him were now tangled in thick chocolatey locks of hair.

Every part of her was on fire, and when he started trailing kisses up and down her body, it only intensified. How she could be so angry at him one minute and then making love to him the next was beyond her, and she told herself that she'd figure out the little details later, when her mind was a tad more rational. She opened up herself completley to him, letting his hands and lips explore every part of her body, as if it was all new to him.

And explore was exactley what he did. Every inch of her body. There wasn't a freckle or scar that he didn't know about, he made sure of it as he took his sweet time ravaging her. All in all, it was the hottest and most passionate sex they had ever had. They stayed in bed for the remainder of the day, and most of the night, making love. It was in the early hours of the morning, when the sun had just started to peek above the horizon, that they had settled down enough to talk.

_'What a way to make up' _Inner Sakura mused, wiping the sweat off her brow. "I'm sorry" Neji said, taking her hand in his and kissing each of her fingers lightly. "I never meant to offend you, I was just afraid and angry. I am confident in your skills, it is just the 'what if' possibility. That is why I wanted you to quit being a kunoichi" he explained gently, gazing tenderly into her eyes. Sakura smiled lovingly at him, "I know, but do you know I feel the same way about you? Your a genius, but there is always that 'what if' possibility. But it is the risk I know you take for Konoha".

Neji sighed and buried his face into her chest, "I don't think I really deserve you" he said. Sakura grinned, "Yah, I know", she laughed as Neji smirked up at her and crawled ontop of her, grinning like an imp. He kissed her then, not like he had before, not with so much need and want. This time it was a kiss filled with his love and compassion for her, a gentle kiss that had her mind whirling.

"I don't want you to quit modeling, either...I guess" he said with a soft sigh, leaning in and placing his forehead on hers. Sakura giggled at him, "My 'contract' is up at the end of the month, Neji. After that I can continue modeling if I want, but honestly, I need to get back on my routine. They know that, and have told me that I can come back and contine modeling at any time."

Neji's eyebrow twitched, "Why didn't you say something earlier?" "And miss seeing your eyebrow twitch? Never!" she laughed, squealing as Neji started tickling her. "You do know that you will pay dearly for this, right?" he asked her in a mock threat. She smirked, "If it's anything like the last several hours of payment, then bring it on!"

And thus, Sakura and Neji continued on with their lovey dovery affair. Sakura did end up modeling again for a couple of months, much to Neji's distaste, but he put up with it anyway. They also made a very important decision a few days after their little talk, they decided to request that they be sent on missions together, that way they could still spend time together and ensure each other's safety.

This lead to Neji eventually proposing to Sakura, with a ring given to him by his uncle. The ring, his uncle had explained, had belonged to Neji's mother. Lord Hizashi had taken possession of it when she had passed away, and had given strict orders for it to be passed down to Neji when he was ready to get married. Sakura accepted, of course. (Duh :P) Their wedding was held last spring, when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

FIN

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AN:

So then, here it is. Finally done. It took forever, but it's finally done. Working on four different stories at the same time is exhausting . Done for Canadian Menteuse, since she was the one who asked for it Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Except for the ending, I'm not really sure if I like it or not. But I'm too lazy to re-write it ;; Lol.

By the way, I've taken the liberty of including what exactley the Sashimi, Sushi and Maki tray is. I don't like anything about it, except the looks. It looks so cool XD

Sashimi, Sushi & Maki Tray (72pcs)

**Sashimi 3 Pieces Each:**** Tuna, Salmon, Tai, Clam, Tako & Ika  
****Sushi 2 Pieces of Each:**** Tuna, Salmon, Tai, Hamachi, Ebi, Clam, Kani, Tako & Ika  
****Maki 6 Pieces Each:**** California, Tuna, Salmon &: Cucumber Roll  
4 Pieces of Fotomaki & 8 Pieces of Dragon Roll**


End file.
